Hujjatul-Islam Dr Mohammad Shomali director of the Islamic Centre of England in his annual address on Thursday 17th December 2015, spoke about the activities of the Centre, the work of the community and expressed his opinion on some current affair issues.

Dr Shomali took the opportunity to send his greetings to the Christian community on the occasion of Christmas and to the Muslims for the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad(s) and Imam Jaf ‘ar As-Sadeq(a) whose births are commemorated (this year) on the 29th of December 2015.

While reminding people of these joyful events Dr Shomali also spoke of the sadness for suffering of people worldwide especially in the Middle East and Africa (Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Nigeria). He expressed regret that people, in this day and age, appear not to have learned the lesson; that problem cannot be resolved by force or killing. He expressed optimism for the growing presence, in both the Christian and Muslim communities, of individual committed to promoting peace.

The director of the Islamic Centre of England referred to the second letter of the Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei to the youth of the West, pointing to his unequivocal condemnation of the Paris terrorist attack which stand in net contrast to the selective condemnation of terrorism by Western politicians and media outlets.

Dr Shomali reiterated that terrorism has no place in Islam, a conviction particularly strong in the Shi’a community and among Shi'a scholars. He pointed to the Leader's call to Western governments, to avoid reactionary responses in the name of combating terrorism, as these only alienates and isolate the entire Muslim communities. 'A community that is greatly contributing to the society in which they live', added Dr. Shomali.

He further referred to Ayatollah Khamenei's letter of and his request to the youth of the West to study and understand Islam in order to build bridges among different peoples.

Dr Shomali gave a brief description of the activities conducted by the Islamic Centre over the past twelve month at both national and international level.

After his address Dr Shomali answered questions from a number of reporters representing media outlets in Arabic, English and Farsi.The questions put to Dr Shomali reflected people’s concerns on issues related to Muslims both in UK and abroad.